Looking to his right, he gazed at the beauty of his woman's profile, she being mounted upon her own pony, and it standing closely to his own steed. A feeling of warmth and an all-encompassing sense of love for this woman coursed through his veins.
As though she could feel the warmth of his gaze upon her, she turned her head toward him and smiled. And in response, his heart picked up its pace.
Then, by mutual agreement, they both returned their attention to the real-life drama taking place in front of them…the utter disgracing of Maká pato'si.
It is good.
Neither First Rider nor any of his friends had harmed the man. On their journey back to the fort, he and his fellow scoutshad always left food at their camps for the evil one to eat, but they had also ensured there was only food enough to sustain Maká pato'si, never enough to nourish him or give him strength.
On the journey here to Fort Benton, as they had followed the Big River, they had kept their path to the grassy prairie rising up above the river. Both First Rider and Otahki had ridden their horses in front of the scoundrel, letting him follow along at a slower pace. First Rider's two friends had pulled up the rear.
To First Rider, this humiliation of the man was his finest wedding present to his woman. Glancing at her injured face now, he knew the joy of a task accomplished, a duty done without physically injuring Maká pato'si.
Straightening his shoulders, First Rider allowed himself to enjoy the pride of a job well done. And, as he watched the naked, stinky and hairy man stumble through the swirling water of the Big River, he wondered how many more of his kind would be coming here to Pikuni country.
As First Rider looked on at Maká pato'si now, although there was an awareness of gladness in his heart, within his mind he saw a quick flash of the future: a not-too-distant time when more of this kind of man would come here. Was the Pikuni's future to hold more trouble than they could easily fight? Or was this view into the future a gift from the Spirit of the Creator, it allowing First Rider to know what was impending, and, thus, to prepare?
As First Rider watched the exposed troublemaker stumble and crawl up the steep incline toward Fort Benton's gate, his heart suddenly felt tight in his chest, momentarily worried over what might come to be. But, with a shrug, he threw off his worries for now, knowing the future presented to him was what could be, not what had to be.
Indeed, he was here now, and, in his heart he knew he had an opportunity to change the coming evil presented to him bythe Creator. For the present time, he had succeeded in the battle between himself and Maká pato'si.
It is good.
There was, however, one minor occurrence he did not understand: on the journey to the fort, Otahki had worried about Maká pato'si's comfort. Why? Even after he and his friends had restored the man's boots to him—at Otahki's request—she had mentioned more than once that his clothing should be given to him in the evening, when the warmth of the sun was gone from the air. But, he and his friends had refused to give the evil one any sort of consideration; they hadn't killed him, nor had they tried to do so. In First Rider's mind, they were already treating him with more empathy than he deserved.
But, Otahki's pleas for the man had brought a question into First Rider's mind, one that troubled him: did she still care for the man?
No sooner had the question entered his mind than he received an answer in the world of mind-to-mind speak:
"Of course she cares for the man; they were once married. Ease your mind, Almost-Son. She is a woman. And, being a woman, she feels empathy for all of Creator's creatures. Rejoice in the goodness within her heart. Remember, she loves only you. And, in time, your love for each other will conquer your differences."
Of course, it was his Big-Person almost-mother speaking to him in the common manner by which the Big People and medicine men "spoke." And so, he answered:
"I thank you for your wisdom, Almost-Mother. I do not wish to lose her, and perhaps, because I lost my first wife shortly after we were first married, I worry, since I do not now wish to lose Otahki so soon after we have come together. Youare right. I know she loves me as I love her. I will put my fear behind me."
Then came her answer:
"It is good. I am here for you, Almost-Son. I will always be here for you."
The communication channel dropped.
First Rider smiled. Although his birth mother, Little Dove, and his almost-father, Chief Chases-the-enemy, spoke of this Big Person as the enemy they had conquered, First Rider knew in his heart a differing point-of-view. Always, he was glad to have been given a short time with his Big-Person almost-mother.
Most people within the tribe shared the opinion of First Rider's parents. Indeed, only two other people within the tribe understood First Rider's connection to his almost-mother, the Big Person. And, those two people were Eagle Heart, the medicine man and younger brother of Chief-Chases-the-enemy, and Eagle Heart's wife, Laylah.
Unafraid of the Big People, both Eagle Heart and his wife had added an understanding of First Rider's abduction all those years ago, regaling First Rider with the story of how this Big Person, in the end, had rescued not only him, but how she had saved his birth mother, Little Dove, and Eagle Heart also, although Little Dove, it seemed, no longer remembered.
Yet, growing up in the Pikuni tribe, First Rider, a Crow man by birth, had felt blessed by the Creator for giving him the opportunity to experience a family and the Pikuni tribe, with its many and different kinds of people. His family members, indeed, included not only the Pikuni and the Crow people, but within its ranks were several white American women, as well as a Big-Person woman and her family.
As First Rider looked again at the naked man who was barely able to keep on his feet, trudging as he was up the embankment of the Big River, First Rider knew a moment of peace within his heart. Plus, it was good to see real justice given to a man who deserved what First Rider and his friends had given him…and more.
But, because his woman's father should become aware of the gift First Rider and his friends were bringing to the fort this day, he had sent Stands Strong on ahead of their main party, asking Stands Strong to inform Otahki's father of the reward being brought to him this day. Not only would his father-in-law, Henrik, bear witness to Maká pato'si's disgrace, Stands Strong would have also informed Henrik of how Maká pato'si had cheated the men at The Medicine Sun River settlement.
Red Fox—the youngest member of their party—who had been pulling up their rear, was in the act of bringing his own mount in close beside First Rider. Leaning forward over his pony's neck, Red Fox grinned.
"Ha'!" said Red Fox. "It is good to see Maká pato'si outwitted and brought back to the white man's fort in disgrace."
"Áa, it is good! Perhaps Maká pato'si will now leave our country forever."
